SEC Week 4 Predictions

                                                        Courtesy of saturdaydownsouth.com


Well we've got 3 weeks in the books, and Week 4 of SEC football is upon us.  While this week might not be thought of as the most dramatic week of the season, it still has several key match ups with Mississippi State going to the Plains, Texas A&M squaring off against Arkansas in Jerry's World, and Tennessee trying to break their losing streak against Florida in The Swamp.  So let's see how each team should fair this weekend.  

                                                                          Courtesy of usatoday.com

Southern
at Georgia (No line)

Sorry sports gaming fans, there's no line on this game.  Georgia obviously wins in a huge blowout and rests their starters by the start of the 3rd quarter.  Georgia will prep their players for Alabama, who comes to Athens next week.  

                                                                Courtesy of bleacherreport.com

UCF
at South Carolina -14.5

Ok, these are 2 atrocious football teams.  South Carolina is bad, but UCF is even worse.  Lorenzo Nunez will get his chance to revive the Gamecock program on Saturday.  I hope that involves throwing the ball the Pharoh Cooper at least 20 times.  I'm not sure South Carolina covers, but UCF is 0-3 and lost to Florida International, Stanford, and Furman.  Give me the Gamecocks and the points.  

                                                                    Courtesy of SBNation.com

LSU - 24.5
at Syracuse

Lay Em!  How is Syracuse going to stop Leonard Fournette?  I think the biggest issue for the Tigers is whether or not they run out of booze in The Carrier Dome for their fans by the half.   Godspeed Orangemen, Godspeed.  

                                                         Courtesy of tennessean.com

Tennessee
at Florida (Even)

Alright Vols fans, if you're want to be ready for prime time you have to win this game.  I haven't completely bought into Butch Jones yet, because he hasn't won any big games.  If the Vols win this game in The Swamp, then Tennessee might have a shot to compete with Georgia for the East, but I still think Georgia is far better.  Florida's defense will keep it close, but I think Tennessee has more offensive talent, ends the streak, and wins this game by a field goal.  Vols 17 - Gators 14.

                                                                      Courtesy of imgur.com

UL Monroe
at Alabama -38

Oh Twitter, how glorious you've been the last couple of days.   From "Joey Freshwater" to rumors of Lane Kiffin running his game on every lady in Tuscaloosa, this last week has been Internet Gold for Bama haters.  People have almost forgotten how terrible Auburn football is, because of the TMZ/Keeping Up With The Kiffins stories that have come out of Roll Tide Nation.  I doubt hardly any of it is true, but I can't wait for the signs on College Game Day.  Bama covers on this one, but I know people that would give their first born child to the reporter who is brave enough to ask Nick Saban if there's any truth to the rumors regarding Lane Kiffin.  I swear this week in Alabama.

                                                       Courtesy of tumblr.com

                                                                     Courtesy of LSUfreek.com

Texas A&M -6.5
vs. Arkansas 

This game looks like Vegas is begging you to take the Aggies.  I think Arkansas has some serious issues, and A&M is clearly better.  I am reluctantly going to take the Aggies to cover, based on talent alone, but I wouldn't be surprised if Bret pulls a miracle and wins this game in Arlington.  Arkansas has to turn it around at some point.  They can't be this bad, or Bret might not make it to 2016, let alone 2017.  

                                          Courtesy of southernlivingthedailysouth.com

Vanderbilt
at Ole Miss -26.5

Hotty Toddy!  Lay Em!  The only question on this game is whether or not Swag Kelly makes it to the 3rd quarter or if he's dancing on the stage at The Library while Ryan Fratcannon game-manages his way to a 50-10 victory.   Chad Kelly is already watching film of Vernon Hargreaves III for next week.

                                                                      Courtesy of al.com

Mississippi State
vs. Auburn -2.5

This game is probably the most interesting game in the SEC.  I know Tennessee at Florida is the 3:30 CBS game, as it should be, but the Bulldogs heading to The Plains has pretty big implications.  The loser goes to 2-2 and is essentially done in the SEC West, while the winner can cling to some hope that they have a shot to compete for a chance to go to Atlanta.  Both of these teams lost to LSU.  State lost on a missed field goal, and Auburn got taken to the woodshed.  State has to go on the road to an Auburn crowd that is desperate for a win, and the Tigers are hoping that Sean White can lead their team back to respectability.  The Dak Attack is more of a proven commodity than Sean White, and I think the Bulldogs go to The Plains and get a win.  This Auburn team is a lot closer to 0-3 than they are 3-0.  #Clanga

                                                                    Courtesy of reacactiongifs.com

Missouri
at Kentucky -3

Who knows?  I feel like the guys in Vegas, just said, "Hey both these teams are so mediocre and bland, let's just give the home team 3 points and hope the Wildcats fans bet heavy on Kentucky."  Mizzou has struggled for the last 2 weeks.  They beat UCONN 9-6.   9 Points at Home!  You know who else scored 9 points at home last week?  Kentucky!   Thank goodness this game is at 7:30 PM EST.  I'd say go with Kentucky, but something tells me Mizzou actually wakes up and wins this game, because they know how to win close games, even if it's ugly.  

                                                         Courtesy of SBNation.com


We'll see how things play out on Saturday.  Will Tennessee finally get back to their former glory?  Will Lane Kiffin manage to make it to halftime before Harvey Updyke poisons his Gatorade?  Will Bret try and parlay his performance in Jerry's World, into an Offensive Line Coaching Job with the Cowboys?  Will Stingray go to Auburn?  Will we see more Surrender Cobras?  Here's to Week 4 in the SEC!  

  

SEC Week 3 Predictions

                                                      Courtesy of courier-journal.com

After a Week 2 that saw some shocking losses, we head into a week that sees some key SEC head to head match ups.  The most important game going into this week is undoubtedly Ole Miss at Alabama, but I'm going to save that prediction for tomorrow.  For now, let's take a look at the rest of the SEC.

                                                              Courtesy of themaneater.com

UCONN 
at Missouri -21.5

As I'm writing this news has just came out that there's been a car accident in Columbia involving 4 Missouri football players, so first off we hope that everyone is safe and send out our thoughts and prayers to the Mizzou football family.  21 1/2 points is a lot even for a UCONN team that is clearly bad at football.  The Tigers will win, but it's tough to say how much they'll win by, after they struggled at Arkansas State.  They could be distracted by the accident and looking head to Kentucky, but I think that sometimes as terrible as it is tragedy makes you rally around your team and after last week the Tigers look to bounce back against UCONN and they cover this game but barely.  

                                                          Courtesy of chatsports.com

Nevada
at Texas A&M - 34

A&M has looked very good in the first two weeks, but again 34 points is a lot, even at home.  I think the Aggies win this one in about the first 15 minutes, but then they'll sit everyone to get ready for Arkansas next week.  They'll be very vanilla on offense, because they can, seeing as how Nevada doesn't have Kaep as their QB, and they got shutout against Arizona last week.  The Aggies win, but Nevada makes a late push to keep A&M from covering.  

                                                             Courtesy of ktbs.com

Northwestern State
at Mississippi State - 42

Mississippi State has not looked good the last two weeks, struggling with Southern Miss and then losing to LSU.  Granted, they played very well in the 2nd half, but LSU had several touchdowns called back and jumped out to a big lead.  I think they look for a statement win here and destroy Northwestern State.  The Dawgs cover this and I went with the picture above, because I can't believe this actually an approved mascot.   It looks like Eddie Munster spent the weekend at Burning Man, and someone convinced him to get bolts shoved into his forehead.

                                                        Courtesy of usatoday.com

Austin Peay
at Vanderbilt -40.5

Vandy looked better last week against Georgia, but their offense is still going to struggle.  They'll beat Austin Peay easily, but I'm not sure they can score 40 points, even against Austin Peay.  Austin Peay is abysmally bad at football, but Vandy isn't exactly the '85 Bears.  This game looks like it is going to be a 34-7 thumping, but The Commodores fail to cover. 

                                                              Courtesy of classiccitytoday.com

South Carolina 
at Georgia -16.5

South Carolina is going to have some serious problems going forward, but this is a rivalry game.  I don't think outside of Stephen Garcia somehow finding another year of eligibility that the Gamecocks win this game, but I think they'll surprisingly cover.  Nick Chubb runs for over 100 yards for the 11th straight game, leaving him 1 shy of Herschel Walker's record.

                                                         Courtesy of imgarcade.com

Texas Tech
at Arkansas -11

After last week, you can bet Bret is not going to be happy.  Arkansas plays the Aggies next week with Texas Tech getting TCU at home, so this is a non-conference game both teams could overlook.  After Arkansas completely ended any hopes they had of a good season against Toldeo, I have no idea what to think.  The Hogs should win this game by 2 touchdowns, but who knows how they'll come out.  They could be hungover after the loss or energized to prove they're better than that.  I'd pass on this game, but usually after a team looks awful, they bounce back and I will reluctantly take the Hogs to cover.  Bret better make sure his wife is up in the booth though when Coach Handsome comes to Fayetteville.  

                                                              Courtesy of locerdome.com

Western Carolina
at Tennessee -34

Even Smokey couldn't watch after last Saturday.  I think the Vols are looking to prove that game was a fluke and Butch runs up the score against Western Carolina.  Josh Dobbs probably won't play much after the 1st half, as the Vols light up the scoreboard in Knoxville.  Take the Vols and the points.  

                                                       Courtesy of wcnc.com

Florida -3.5
at Kentucky 

Don't make Jim McElwain angry.  You...wouldn't like him...when he's angry.  Who knows with this game?  It's pretty much a push.  Is this the year Kentucky finally breaks the streak against the Gators?  If they're going to do it, they better hope it's this year at home.  I'm going with the Wildcats in this game.  I think both teams are somewhat evenly matched, and I'm giving the edge to Kentucky being that this game is in Lexington.  

                                                                Courtesy of photos.nola.com

Auburn
at LSU -6.5

The CBS 3:30 game sees the Battle of the Tigers in Baton Rouge.   I've got a soft spot for this game considering I've seen Auburn play LSU in an afternoon game in Baton Rouge.  From what I can recall, that's what The Red Stick does to your memory, it was the year after Cam Newton left Auburn and LSU fans were pointing at black birds hovering around the top of Tiger Stadium and yelling "War Eagle!" while making Finebaum references.  

Auburn has not looked good at throwing, running, or catching the football.  That's not a good sign, when your team is known for having a high powered offense and a defense that is lacking.  Meanwhile, LSU's QB had 71 yards passing last week.   SEVENTY-ONE!  I know high school option offenses where the QB throws for more than 71 yards in a game.   

I'm going to go with LSU to win this game, but I think they win by less than 6 1/2 points.  Auburn will look better than they did last week, because they can't look much worse, and they make it a game in Baton Rouge.  LSU wins largely because this game is at home, and they have Leonard Fournette.  

What We Learned Yesterday About College Football And The SEC

                                                                   Courtesy of reddit.com


Welp........as usual, I guess we can throw most of the preseason rankings out the window.   Congrats SEC on completely embarrassing yourselves after having 10 teams ranked in the Top 25.  That clearly won't be happening again.  Let's see how you managed to prove that despite massive amounts of talent and the budget of a Fortune 500 company, you were over-hyped.

SEC

                                                                 Courtesy of reddit.com

Arkansas loses to Toledo

Bret, you can't talk smack all week to Ohio State, a team you don't even play, and then lose to a MAC team.  A team you were favored to beat by 3 TDs!  You deserved everything you got after this week.  I had the Hogs picked to finish 7th in the West with a record of 5-7, but I didn't think they'd lose to The Rockets.  

                                                                    Courtesy of reddit.com

Auburn somehow beats Jacksonville State 

This performance was a flat out disgrace.  If you're an Auburn fan right now, you should be appalled at the Tigers the last two weeks.  The defense looked horrible, and I think it's safe to say there's a reason Jeremy Johnson backed up Nick Marshall.  It's because he's a terrible QB, and doesn't deserve to be anywhere near a football.  I wouldn't want to be in the Waffle House that the Malzahns ate at last night.  

                                                                     Courtesy of TheBigLead.com

Tennessee out-chokes Choklahoma

The surprise in this game wasn't that the Vols lost.  Oklahoma was favored after all.  It's how they lost...by a complete meltdown in the 2nd half and overtime.  The calls certainly didn't help UT as Oklahoma got a late pass interference call, when the ball sailed out of the back of the endzone and was so uncatchable Odell Beckham couldn't have caught it.  Then there was a blatant false start penalty that went uncalled on the very next play.  This game was just brutal to watch if you were a Tennessee fan.  I thought Tennessee would lose, but this was just heartbreaking.  

                                                                    Courtesy of al.com

Mizzou struggles to beat Arkansas State

Seriously guys?  If Mizzou hadn't knocked out Arkansas State's QB, this might have been another huge upset.  The Tigers trailed 17-10 at the half.  Granted, they did play much better in the 3rd quarter, but they didn't exactly finish strong.  This game shouldn't have even been close, but Arkansas State gave a lot of Mizzou fans a scare.

                                                         Courtesy of independentmail.com

South Carolina loses at home to Kentucky

This might very well be Spurrier's last season.  The Gamecocks should be 0-2, if North Carolina wasn't so inept.  The Wildcats beat Spurrier again for the 2nd year in a row, but this time it was surprisingly in Columbia.  Connor Mitch has a separated shoulder, and The Head Ball Coach implied he's likely done for the year.  South Carolina heads to Athens this week to face Georgia, who definitely have that game circled on their calendar.

                                                                       Courtesy of tumblr.com

Georgia beats Vandy in unimpressive fashion

I know this is a conference game, but it looked like Georgia was sleep-walking through this contest in Nashville.  Vanderbilt is not a good football team, and Georgia while winning by 17 did not look that impressive against an inferior opponent.  Maybe UGA was looking ahead to South Carolina, but Lambert doesn't look like a QB who should be leading the best team in the SEC East.  That having been said, with Nick Chubb running the ball, he doesn't have to.

                                                                   Courtesy of theadvocate.com

LSU pulls a Les Miles at Mississippi State

LSU games are nothing if not bizarre and exciting.  The first half of this game, LSU moved the ball at will against the Bulldogs.  The 2nd half was a different story.  Dak Prescot woke up (likely from the skull-splitting cowbells being rung throughout Davis Wade stadium), and played like a true SEC Senior QB.  The Bulldogs made a late push in the 4th quarter and after a potential TD throw that came up just short, Mississippi State was set up for 47 yard game-winning field goal attempt, when they committed a delay of game penalty.  That pushed the attempt back to 52 yards and the kick sailed wide to allow LSU to hang on for a 21-19 victory.  The biggest takeaways from the game were that Leonard Fournette is an elite running back, Dak Prescott is going to have to win some games on his own, and Brandon Harris is not going to be an effective thrower of the football.  The Bayou Bengals get Auburn in Death Valley next week, which should be heralded as a battle between two of the worst QBs in the SEC, while Mississippi State takes on the Northwestern State Demons.

                                                              Courtesy of abc13.com

Texas A&M throttles Ball State

The Aggies have looked much improved this season so far.  They've gotten competent play on both sides of the ball and the points they did give up to the Cardinals were late garbage time points.  This game finished 56-23, but it wasn't that close as A&M lead 49-3 at the half.  The Aggies get Nevada next week before heading to Arkansas.  

                                                                       Courtesy of jacksonville.com

Florida hangs on against East Carolina

Florida is 2-0.  That's the good news.  The bad news is they didn't look all that impressive against East Carolina, and McElwain went all Muschamp on the sidelines after a stupid penalty.  ECU started out with a 31 yard TD pass to take a 7-0 lead then the Gators marched back with 10 unanswered points to take a 10-7 lead into the half.  The 2nd half also went back and forth with the two teams trading blows.  Florida eventually took a 31-17 lead, and hung on after a late TD by the Pirates to win 31-24.   The Gators head to the Commonwealth next week, in what should be an interesting game for both teams, as the loser could miss out on a bowl birth.

                                                             Courtesy of bleacherreport.com

Bama takes care of business against Middle Tennessee State

Saban may have made this game lackluster by design.  The Tide could have played their 4th stringers and won this game.   Jake Coker looked much better in this game than he did a week earlier against Wisky, and Derrick Henry did not disappoint with 3 TDs.  If the Tide continues to get serviceable QB play this year, they'll be just fine.

                                                                       Courtesy of olemiss.edu

Ole Miss puts up 70 for the 2nd week in a row.

Hugh Freeze has clearly only been playing Buchanan and Kincade to make Bama prepare for them.  Chad Kelly is light years ahead of both of them, and it's undeniable that he's the best option for the Rebs.  The Rebels seemed to score at will the last two weeks, and had Kelly played the entire time they'd have topped 100 points in both of those games.  College Gameday will be in Tuscaloosa next week as the Tide and Rebels collide for what should be an awesome game.  

OUTSIDE OF THE SEC

Ohio State beats the Rainbow Warriors 38-0 in a game that surprises no one.

TCU crushes Stephen F. Austin 70-7.

Notre Dame might have beaten UVA, but it came at a heavy price with the loss of their QB.

Clemson makes sure App State doesn't enjoy their trip to Death Valley.

FSU struggles in the first half, but Dalvin Cook goes off in the 2nd half against the Bulls.

Georgia Tech spanks Tulane 65-10.

Arizona goes to Nevada and gets a 44-20 win.

Baylor drops 66 against Lamar, but gives up 31 points to a team that has no business scoring that much.

USC vandalizes Idaho 59-9.

BYU wins again on another miraculous comeback, this time against Boise State.

UCLA goes to Vegas and dominates the Running Rebels.

Utah wins a battle against Utah State, but not without some significant injuries.

Sparty knocks off the Ducks in East Lansing and solidify their argument to be among college football's elite.

                                                                    Courtesy of sportige.com

Week 2 of College Football is in the books, and the NFL is about to grace us with it's presence.  Cheers to the continuation of an awesome football weekend.  

SEC Weeks 2 Predictions

                                                                     Courtesy of boneheadpicks.com


With Week 1 in the books we learned little if anything, other than the fact there are now 10 SEC Teams ranked in the Top 25, which is a record and simultaneously completely ridiculous.  While it's evident this is the best conference in the country, there's no way 10 teams from the SEC are the best 25 teams in the country.  So let's see how week 2 will play out.

                                                                  Courtesy of foxsports1.com

Jacksonville State
at Auburn

There's not really an official line in this game.  Needless to say, when Auburn decides to stop scoring, the game will be over.  The Tigers didn't look that impressive against Louisville in the opener and they'll be looking to LSU next week, but they'll win this game without any trouble.  This should be a very vanilla game for Auburn as they won't want to give LSU any extra game film.  

                                                                    Courtesy of hottytoddy.com

Fresno State
at Ole Miss -30 1/2

Ole Miss would have scored 100 points last week had Chad Kelly played the whole game.  While Fresno State beat Abilene Christian, they didn't look all that impressive in the win.  Their QB was 14-32 for a 43% completion percentage.  Good luck against the Ole Miss secondary.  Take the Rebs and the points.  

                                                        Courtesy of Fansided.com

Georgia -21
at Vanderbilt

A 21 point line in a conference game is insulting.  That having been said, Vandy is clearly the worst team in the SEC, if not all of the Power 5 conferences.  They struggled to score against a WKU defense that gave up 38 points to Jeff Driskel.  Take Georgia with the points.  If Georgia gives up more than 7 points, they should be ashamed, but not as ashamed as CBS, who somehow decided to make this the 3:30PM CBS Game Of The Week.  If Verne and Gary aren't asleep by halftime, it is because they're going to be talking about how Nick Chubb should be handed The Heisman in Week 2.  #WOW

                                                                       Courtesy of al.com

Middle Tennessee State
at Alabama -35

Bama plays Ole Miss next week, and Saban has a habit of sleepwalking through cupcake games before they play big opponents, namely so he can yell at his players that they are lazy and he's clearly got the game against the Rebs circled on his calendar after last year.  I'd stay away from this line as Bama could win by 50 or by 25.  If you had to bet though, go with the Tide and the points.

                                                                  Courtesy of utoledo.edu

Toldeo
at Arkansas -22

Run it up Bret.  Take the Hogs and the points.  Bret won't show any mercy to the Rockets.  The Hogs looked good against UTEP, but that's not saying much.  This game should be over midway through the 2nd quarter.

                                                                     Courtesy of todaysu.com

Oklahoma -3
at Tennessee

Alright Tennessee fans, if you're wondering which game every season for the last few years you usually fall flat on your face claiming the Vols are back, it would be this game.  We'll see if Butch Please is better than Big Game Bob.  Tennessee did not look good in Week 1 as Bowling Green scored 30 points on them.  The game was never really in doubt, but they still let an inferior opponent score 30 points.  I'd take the Sooners to cover until Tennessee proves themselves.  

                                                                        Courtesy of bonesville.net

East Carolina
at Florida - 20

This game got moved from an afternoon game to Saturday night, because it looked like a trendy upset special, until ECU QB Kurt Benkert tore his ACL.  The Pirates were hoping they could pull off a victory in The Swamp, but that looks like a tough task now.  Florida destroyed New Mexico State last week and they'll win comfortably against ECU, but I don't think they cover the spread.  Take ECU with the points.  

                                                                    Courtesy of garypinkel.com

Mizzou - 11 1/2
at Arkansas State

How is this line only 11 1/2 points?  More importantly, why is Mizzou going to Arkansas State?  Is their athletic department that hard up for cash? Maybe Mizzou is a lot worse than people think, but if they can't beat the Red Wolves by 12 should they even be considered as a contender in the SEC East?  I'd say take Mizzou, but if for some reason they don't cover, they're going to have a lot bigger problems.

                                                    Courtesy of saturdaydownsouth.com
                                
Ball State
at Texas A&M - 63 1/2

Good Lord, 63 1/2 points!  Vegas thinks the Aggies are going to win by at least 9 Touchdowns.  I realize they'll blow out Ball State, but that's an unreal number.  Vegas is begging you to take Ball State, but that palace in the desert wasn't built by people who don't know what they are doing.  I reluctantly say take Ball State and hope Sumlin takes his foot off the gas at halftime.

                                                              Courtesy of youtube.com

Kentucky
at South Carolina - 7 1/2 

Neither of these teams are very good.  South Carolina should have lost to UNC, if the Tar Heels weren't run by an incompetent QB and head coach.  Being that this game is in Columbia, the Gamecocks should win, but I don't think they cover the 7 1/2 points.  Last year the Wildcats beat SC in Kentucky, so you can be sure the Gamecocks are looking for revenge, but I don't think either of these teams is going to dominate the other.  I'd take Kentucky getting 7 1/2 points.

                                                               Courtesy of secrant.com

LSU -4
at Mississippi State

This is the game of the week.  State did not look good against Southern Miss and LSU's game got cancelled because of weather.  Last year the Bulldogs went into Baton Rouge and showed they were better than LSU.  This year the Fighting Tigers on paper should win, but playing at Davis Wade at night with the cowbells ringing is going to be tough.  I think this game comes down to the battle in the trenches and LSU is much better than Mississippi State on both sides of the ball.  Dak will make some amazing plays, but that weak offensive line will struggle to protect him all night and LSU makes just enough plays to cover the line.  

                                                              Courtesy of reactiongifs.us

Here's to Week 2 of College Football!  Let's Go SEC!